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Manchukuo

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1932 - 1935

1936 - 1939

1940 - Jul 1942

Jul 1942 - 1944

Scenic Cancels of Manchukuo

Special Cancels

Tourist Cachets

Shaped Railway Cachets

KLT Cancels

Scenic Cancels of KLT/SMRZ

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Shaped Railway Cachets (no postal validity)
     
Below are some of the many strangely shaped tourist cachets, shapes include buildings, animals, birds, city outlines, people, fruit and just about anything else that might be associated with a town or region. There may be as many as 50 different designs. The place name is often followed by the character 驛 this is Japanese usage meaning station, all have 昭和 Shōwa dating.

These cachets were collected in special booklets throughout railway journeys. The cachets were available at stations for anyone to use, when the train stopped you simply got out and stamped your booklet. In addition to the railway cachets collectors added the date-stamps of hotels and tourist attractions making the booklet a complete record of the trip they had taken. Most of the booklets I have seen have included Korea, North China and the KLT as part of the journey so the use of these hand-stamps seems to have been common in Japanese occupied China at this time.
     
Railway 1 - Dated 15th September 1942.
This example was issued at Hsinking Station

Design features - Pictures of the city roofline in an outline shape of Hsinking.

Size 33.5mm x 42mm . Known colours - purple and magenta. 

   Railway 2 - Dated 15th September 1942.
This example was issued at Kirin Station

Design features - Pictures of the Kirin in the shape of a bird.

Size 48mm x 40mm . Known colours - purple and pale green. 
     
Railway 3 - Dated 14th August 1939.
This example was issued at 佳木斯 Kia mu sze Station

Design features - Outlines of local landmarks, train, bridge, paddle-steamer and junk.

Size 30.5mm x 36mm . Known colours - magenta. 

 Railway 4 - Dated 12th April 1937.
This example was issued at 奉天 Fengtien (Mukden) Station

Design features - One of the famous stone elephants from the North Mausoleum.

Size 35mm x 33.5mm . Known colours - magenta and purple. 
     
 
Railway 5 - Dated 14th September 1939.
This example was issued at 蘇家屯 Su-chia-t'un Station.

Design features - A steam railway engine and a shrine.

Size 55mm x 21.8mm . Known colours - grey black. 

   Railway 6 - Dated 14th September 1939. 
This example was issued at 安東 Antung Station

Design features - A bridge and what I believe to be a hut on a raft of logs being transported on the river. I have seen this on postcards from Antung.

Size 60mm x 19.5mm . Known colours - blue. 
     
 
Railway 7 - Dated 14th September 1939. 
This example was issued at 山海關 Shan-hai-kuan Station

Design features - A lion statue and part of the Great Wall with a rider on a donkey. The station name is also shown in Roman lettering, which is unusual. The "First Pass Under Heaven" is a notable tourist attraction, in Chinese this is  天下第一關 and appears in the top panel. It is the place where the Great Wall meets the sea.

Design Size 53mm x 55mm . Known colours - red. 

   Railway 8 - Dated 13th August 1938. 
This example was issued at 大連 Dairen Station

Design features - A train, probably the Asia together with an image of the passenger terminal and a junk.

Design Size 72mm x 39mm . Known colours - grey blue.  
     
 
Railway 9 - Dated 5th August 1938. 
This example was issued at 旅順 Lǚshùn (Port Arthur) Station.

Design features - the Japanese War Memorial on White Jade Hill.

Design Size 28mm x 50mm . Known colours - red. 

   Railway 10 - Dated 3rd August 1938. 
This example was issued at 海城 Hai Cheng Station.

Design features - the outline of a building, no doubt famous in Hai Cheng and a city scene.

Design Size 28mm x 41mm . Known colours - red. 
     
 
Railway 11 - Dated 1st August 1938. 
This example was issued at 撫順 Fushun Station.

Design features - the Fushun colliery building with the stripes below representing coal deposits.

Design Size 39mm x 37mm . Known colours - purple. 

    Railway 12 - Dated 2nd August 1938. 
This example was issued at 鞍山 Anshan Station.

Design features - the Anshan steelworks and railway workers.

Design Size 38mm x 28mm . Known colours - grey black.
     
 
Railway 13 - Dated 2nd August 1938. 
This example was issued at 湯崗子 T'ang-k'ang-tzu Station.

Design features - A rural scene with the hot-springs symbol. T'ang-k'ang-tzu is close to Anshan.

Design Size 50mm x 26mm . Known colours - grey blue.

   Railway 14 - Dated 2nd August 1938. 
This example was issued at 四平街 Szu-p'ing-chieh Station.

Design features - a monument and two small camels.

Design Size 27mm x 37mm . Known colours - red.
     
 
Railway 15 - Dated 13th August 1938. 
This example was issued at 蓋平 Kai Ping Station.

Design features - a monument and beans and what looks like a centipede?.

Design Size 35mm x 37mm . Known colours - purple.

   Railway 16 - Dated 2nd August 1938. 
This example was issued at 遼陽 Liao Yang Station.

Design features - an outline of the white pagoda, city wall and a building.

Design Size 28mm x 42mm . Known colours - purple.
     
 
Railway 17 - Dated 30th July 1938. 
This example was issued at 新京 Hsinking Station.

Design features - the outline shape of Kaolin stalks with city buildings in the centre.

Design Size 37mm x 42mm . Known colours - purple.

   Railway 18 - Dated 2nd August 1938. 
This example was issued at 首山 Shou-shan Station.

Design features - the outline and shapes within are blurry but it looks like an industrial scene with factory chimneys.

Design Size 35mm x 36mm . Known colours - red.
     
   
Railway 19 - Dated 13th July 1938. 
This example was issued at 鐵嶺 Tieling Station.

Design features - the outline features the shape of the CiQing Temple enclosing an image of the White Pagoda, Dragon Mountain and the City Wall.

Design Size 35mm x 39mm . Known colours - red